p. 14 | DOMESTIC | AdventAI

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Mar 3, 1898

DOMESTIC

—The government relief expedition for the Klondike is now stalled at Nanaimo, B. C., waiting for a tug to tow them to Dyea.

—The ship Asia, with her crew of twenty men, went down off Nantucket Island in the gale which swept the New England coast on February 21, and all on board save three were lost.

—On February 8 two enormous avalanches thundered down Chilcoot Pass and buried 200 tons of miners’ provisions belonging to prospectors who were going over the pass. No lives were lost.

—The various branches of the California department of the Young Men’s Christian Association met in annual convention at Riverside, Cal., on February 23, to continue their session until February 26.

—The Senate passed a bill on February 22 authorizing the formation of two more regiments of artillery to man the big guns in the coast defense batteries provided by Congress within the past two years.

—A mob of 100 men completely demolished a saloon at Young America, Indiana, because of the barbarous treatment given by the proprietor to a lad who was sent to bring his father home. Over 200 kegs of beer were destroyed.

—Miss Frances E. Willard, president of the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union, died early on the morning of February 18, at New York, after an illness of about three weeks. Miss Willard was a native of New York, and was born in 1839.

—La grippe has come down upon Chicago with a heavy hand, and 40,000 residents of that city are now suffering from its attack. It is said to be more virulent than upon its first introduction to this country, and the conditions in Chicago favor a rapid spread of the disease.

—A resolution has been introduced in both Houses of Congress providing that the relatives or representatives of the sailors and officers who lost their lives in the sinking of the Maine be paid a sum equivalent to one year’s salary of the men.

—A bill was introduced in the House of Representatives on February 21, authorizing the building of twenty torpedo boats as soon as contracts can be awarded. If the bill passes the House, six of these boats will be assigned to the Pacific Coast.

—A terrific blizzard, the worst in many years, visited the middle States on February 20, and for some time the States of Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, and Michigan were practically snow-bound, railway and street-car traffic being seriously interfered with.

—The Senate, on February 17, adopted a resolution refusing to confirm the sale of the Kansas Pacific division of the Union Pacific Railroad, except upon the terms that the original claims and the interest thereon due the United States be paid in full by the bidders. The sale was made on February 16, for $6,303,000.

—The negro postmaster at Lake City, South Carolina, was shot by white men on the morning of February 22. A bullet from the assassins also killed a babe in the arms of his wife, and the wife and three daughters were shot and maimed for life. The house of the negro was then set on fire, and the remains of himself and babe were cremated.

—A court of inquiry has been appointed to investigate the Maine disaster in Havana, and have proceeded to that city and begun the work assigned them. The members of the court are: Captain Sampson, commander of the battle-ship Iowa; Captain Chadwick, commander of the New York; Lieutenant-Commander Shroeder, of the battle-ship Massachusetts, and Lieutenant-Commander Marix, of the Vermont.

—The terrible gruesomeness of the destruction which can be wrought by modern implements of war is well illustrated by one of the incidents connected with the recovery of bodies from the wrecked Maine, where the corpses of twelve firemen had to be completely dismembered in order to get them out of that torn and twisted death-trap in the slimy waters of Havana harbor.

—The Spanish cruiser Vizcaya, returning the visit of the Maine to Havana, arrived in New York harbor on the afternoon of February 20, returning the salutes of the forts and the batteries along the entrance to the harbor as she proceeded to her anchorage. A police patrol was at once established around the visitor, to prevent the possibility of any attempt at her destruction.

—The long-predicted rate war between the overland railroads has at last begun, and the scramble of these roads for “Klondike business” has brought the price of a ticket across country down to a fraction of what it has hitherto been. The fact that these exceedingly low rates can be maintained without apparent loss to the companies, shows something of the vast profits made by these corporations in passenger traffic.

—No positive information in regard to the cause of the disaster to the Maine has yet been given the public. The feeling seems to be gaining ground that the vessel was sunk by intent. Rumor has it that President McKinley has positive evidence of Spanish treachery in the sinking of the great vessel, and that Spain has signified her willingness to apologize for the Maine’s destruction and pay damages. The war vessels of the United States are collecting in the vicinity of Key West, with the exception of monitors assigned to the defense of coast cities. It is reported that the cruiser Montgomery has been ordered to proceed to Havana to replace the Maine. Preparations for war are going on within the United States, altho it is not at all certain that war will come.